500 Days (58 page)

“
Fuck you. You know
nothing about me.” I shoved him into the wall and walked away
beyond pissed. He thought he was helping, but he was just making it
worse. Knowing I wouldn’t be able to concentrate, I went home and
opened up my laptop. I decided to do a little investigating of my
own. I googled the name of my dad’s doctor they had listed in the
file. I was going to pay this so called psychiatrist a visit. I
wrote down her address and grabbed my keys on the way out. I had no
actual plan. I just wanted answers.

When I arrived at her office an elderly
woman greeted me at the front desk. “Hello, may I help you?”

“
Yes, I need to see Dr.
Keetz.”

“
I’m sorry, but she’s
booked up today. Maybe we can schedule something for next week,”
she said as her fingertips swiped over the keys of her computer.
“We have as early as next Friday if that works for you.”

“
No, I need to see her
now.”

The secretary’s brows furrowed. “Are you a
patient of hers?”

“
No, but my father
was.”

“
I’m sorry Miss, but
perhaps it would be better if you called and scheduled an
appointment.”

I hadn’t planned on making a scene, but I
wasn’t getting anywhere with this lady and I was getting impatient.
“Is this her office right here?” I pointed to the door with her
name on it which to any idiot would be obvious that it was her
office. When the secretary said nothing I took my cue and made my
way to the door.

“
You can’t go in there.
She’s with a patient. Miss…Miss, stop!” I was at the door faster
than she could stand in her old age. I swung the door open and
barged in.

“
May I help you?” the
doctor asked. She was younger than I expected. Dark blonde hair and
brown eyes that were sharp and slightly slanted. Her thin lips
pressed together as she looked me up and down clearly thinking I
was some kind of lunatic.

“
I need to talk to
you.”

“
I’m sorry but you must
schedule an appointment if you want to speak with me.”

“
I tried telling her that
Dr. Keetz,” the secretary butted in, finally catching up to
me.

“
No, I’m not waiting. I
need to talk to you now,” I said, slamming my fist against the
wall. The secretary jumped back, startled. “My father was Jeffery
Radcliff and I believe he was a patient of yours.”

“
Would you like me to call
the police?” The secretary asked, shrinking behind the
door.

“
No Ethel, that won’t be
necessary. Can you tell my next appointment I will be a few minutes
late and can you shut the door on your way out?” The old woman
looked stunned, but complied anyway. Once the door was shut the
doctor gestured to the chair in front of the desk. “Please, have a
seat, Alex.”

My eyes narrowed at the sound of my name.
“So you know who I am?”

“
Of course I do. You’re
father talked about you often.”

I sank down into the red leather chair. “I
assume you’re here because you have questions.” I nodded, unable to
form words at the moment. “What would like to know?”

“
Everything.”

She smiled, the kind of smile I was sure she
gave all her patients. One that was practiced for tense occasions
like this where you had to be professional and lie your ass off.
“Unfortunately we don’t have time for that. I can tell you your
father loved you very much. He talked about you the most.”

“
Spare me the sentimental
bullshit. I want the truth. Why did my dad start seeing
you?”

“
I’m afraid his original
doctor was way due past retirement. Your father was referred to me
when his doctor’s practice was closed.”

“
You testified at his
trial. You said he was misdiagnosed.”

She sat back in her chair, sighing. She
looked like if she had been preparing for this meeting for a very
long time. “Your father was. He was not schizophrenic. He was just
a very unhappy man.”

“
You’re lying. Clearly you
have no idea what you’re doing and you should have your license
revoked.”

“
Miss Radcliff, Alex. I
understand your upset, but placing blame –”

“
Don’t try to
psychoanalyze me. You weren’t there. You have no idea what
happened!” I snapped, standing up. “This is all your fault. If you
were a real doctor then you would have known my dad was sick. That
he needed to be medicated. Do you have any idea what you have done?
You destroyed a family.” I was seething now, my anger growing more
by the minute. I never had a plan really, but I should have known I
wasn’t going to get anywhere if I kept yelling at her.

“
Alex, I’m sorry that you
feel that way, but the truth is, there was nothing wrong with your
father. He wasn’t happy being married to your mom.” I gawked at
her. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I need you to
understand.” She tried to play the sympathetic doctor, but I could
see right through her act. “He had confessed to me that he was no
longer in love with her and that he had planned to leave
her.”

“
Right, and next you’re
going to tell me that he loved his kids and that he wasn’t leaving
us just my mom. Or maybe that he was leaving my mom for you.” The
last part was meant to be a joke, but her eyes widened the
slightest bit, giving her away. “You got to be fucking kidding me.
You can’t be serious.”

“
Alex, please understand
that it was never my intent to break up a family.”

“
Shut up!” I yelled. “You
don’t get to talk anymore.” I nearly lost it then. In one swipe of
my arm, I knocked everything off of her desk. Then I tore her
so-called diplomas off the wall, smashing every single one of them.
When I was done, I spotted a mug on one her shelves that read
world’s greatest doctor. I picked it up and threw it against the
opposite wall so hard it shattered into a thousand pieces. Panting
like crazy, I looked at the still doctor. “I will have your license
by the time I’m done with you. You were wrong and I will prove it
if it’s the last thing I do.” I walked out without another word.
Past the shaken secretary and the wide eyed patients in the waiting
room. I just kept walking until I got in my car.

Chapter 23

Casper

I tried to reach Alex all day but her phone
kept going straight to voicemail. I called Declan but she said she
hadn’t heard from her either and now I was getting worried. My plan
to steal my father’s files was in hopes of helping Alex, to find
out what really happened and why the trial had gone so horribly
wrong. But now I felt that had backfired. The second she got her
hands on those files everything had changed. She was obsessed with
finding out the truth. I created a monster and unleashed her onto
the world. I feared the worst. I needed to find Alex before she did
something stupid. She was a wreck when she confronted me and I had
no idea how to help her.

After my last class, I drove straight to her
place. I’d knock down the door if I had to. When I ran into Jaxson
earlier he asked what was up with Alex and warned me she was on a
warpath and I should keep my distance. But I refused to listen to
reason. I pounded on the door. “Alex, open up. I know you’re home.
I saw your car parked out front. So open up.” She didn’t respond. I
knew she was in there. “Open up or I’m breaking the door down!”

I heard her unlock the door. She peered out,
her dark green eyes glowing in the dim light of the apartment. I
caught a glimpse of a bandage on her wrist. I grabbed her hand.
“What happened?” Panic surged inside of me.

“
Nothing,” she said,
ripping her hand away.

“
I tried calling you. Why
didn’t you answer?”

“
I broke my
phone.”

“
Can I come in?” I could
see the struggle in her eyes with her decision. I knew she was
hurting but I didn’t know why and I wanted to find out. She slowly
backed away, allowing enough room for me to enter. “Why is it so
dark in here?” I asked.

“
I have a headache and the
bright lights make it worse.”

I looked around the apartment for a clue as
to what happened. Everything seemed to be in place. No broken lamps
or broken glass. She looked pale; her eyes were a little glassy,
letting me know she had been drinking. “Want to tell me what’s
going on?”

She looked down at her trembling hands.
“No,” she said so low I wasn’t even sure I heard her right.

“
Alex,” I touched her
wrist and she pulled away. “Don’t do this.”

“
Do what?” she
snapped.

“
Don’t take your anger out
on me.”

“
Why not? You’re the one
who started this.” She looked up at me, eyes shallow. “I went to
her office today.”

“
Who’s office?” I asked,
scared I already knew the answer.

“
Dr. Keetz, my father’s
so-called psychiatrist.”

“
Alex, why would you do
that?”

“
Because I needed
answers!” she cried. “I needed to know the truth, but she wasn’t
any help.” She unconsciously played with the bandage on her wrist.
My eyes followed. “I trashed her office,” she confessed.

“
Are you out of your mind?
Do you have any idea what you have done? You could have been
arrested, Alex. You’re letting this take over your life. You’re
letting your obsession control you.”

“
My obsession? Getting my
mom out of jail for a murder she didn’t commit is not something I
would consider an obsession.”

“
No, your mom is rotting
in jail because your brother killed your dad, not her, and if you
keep it up you’ll be sharing a jail cell.” I regretted it the
moment it left my lips.

“
Fuck you!”

“
Alex, I’m sorry. I didn’t
mean it.” I tried to wrap my arms around her but she swatted me
away.

“
Don’t touch
me!”

“
Alex, I want to help you,
but you have to stop acting so impulsive. You need to think this
through.”

“
You want to help me, get
out.”

“
Alex –”

“
No. You don’t get to
pretend to be the hero this time. Everything was fine until you
came along. Until I met you my life was not perfect but it was
pretty damn good. This is your fault. You were the one who tricked
me into a dinner with your family so you could steal the files. You
are the one who handed them over and made a mess of everything.
Five hundred days, Casper. That’s all she had left. Just five
hundred until I could bring her home to her family where she
belongs and you come along and destroy all that.”

“
So you screw up and blame
me. I see not being to take the fault for your own crimes is a
family trait.” She smacked me across the face. I deserved it, but I
was way past the point of caring. I was not going to let her blame
me for something I didn’t do. If I did, she would hate me forever.
She would look at me like I was a constant reminder of this pain I
caused her like she was right now.

“
Get out.”

“
No.”

“
Get out!” she screamed,
shoving my chest. “I don’t ever want to see you again. It’s over,
Casper.”

“
You’re going to break up
with me over something I can’t control?”

“
No, I’m breaking up with
you because you brought nothing but misery to my life.”

“
You don’t mean
that.”

Her eyes were wet and I knew she was
fighting hard not to cry. “Since the day you walked into my life
I’ve felt nothing but pain. I would have been perfectly fine not
knowing all of this about my mom’s case. It’s like you killed him
all over again.”

“
Alex, you’re upset. We
should talk about this at another time when you’ve calmed
down.”

“
It’s clear you know
nothing about me. It’s over Casper. Now, for last time, get
out.”

I thought it wise for the time being, to
leave. I was not giving up on us, but I knew now was not the time
to push it. I called Declan on my way out and told her she needed
to go home and stay with Alex. I only told her we had a pretty big
fight and I was afraid for her to be alone. I was worried. In the
state that Alex was in I was scared she would do something
reckless. Declan told me she would drive straight home.

My head was a crazy mess at the moment and I
didn’t know what to do with myself. I just needed to give her time,
I told myself. She was hurt and upset by the things I’d said. I was
a fucking idiot. How the hell was I going to fix this?

I called Alex the next day – fifty times –
before I remembered she told me she broke her phone. I wanted to go
over first thing in the morning but I knew she would need some time
still. When she wasn’t in class I was nervous, something was wrong.
I headed straight to her place when class was over. An unfamiliar
car was parked in her spot and hers was gone. I got out and went to
her apartment anyway. “Alex,” I called, knocking on the door.

No answer.

“
Alex,” I tried again,
pounding on the door.

Nothing.

I took out my phone to call Declan when I
heard the door open. “Jaxson?”

“
Hey man, what’s
up?”

“
Is Alex in
there?”